Florida mayor recants on pride parade incident being 'terrorist attack' after police rule accident

Florida police say the man and the two he hit were part of the city's Gay Men’s Chorus.

Published: June 21, 2021 7:26am

Updated: June 21, 2021 8:35am

A Florida mayor is walking back his statement that a fatal truck accident Sunday at a gay pride parade was a "terrorist attack," after police ruled it an accident.

Immediately after the incident, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis told reporters that it was "a terrorist attack against the LGBT community," calling it "deliberate" and "premeditated."

However, he later said the facts pointed to "an accident in which a truck careened out of control."

An unidentified 77-year-old male is being held responsible for plowed through a group of people during the Stonewall Pride Parade, in Wilton Manors, a city north of Fort Lauderdale, according to The Washington Post.

Police said the driver and the two he hit were all attendants of the parade and part of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus and that the incident was an accident and not a hate crime.

The truck narrowly missed hitting a convertible that was intended to drive Democratic Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz along the parade route.